


Invisible fish

by Madworld



Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Fluff, M/M, Mild Language, Possible smut
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-11-18
Updated: 2013-11-18
Packaged: 2018-01-02 00:25:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 5,436
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1050365
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Madworld/pseuds/Madworld
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Loki loves to learn. Now that he's on Earth he has much more to discover and Tony, no matter how mundane it might be, is happy to help.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

"Tony! Tony!...TONY!"  
Tony heard his name being yelled with excitement and turned away from his workbench just in time to see a very flustered looking Loki skidding into his workshop.  
"Hey Blue" he chuckled.  
Loki was practically jumping with joy as he slammed a book down in front of Tony. Tony started at the sudden loud noise but then leant forward to read the cover obediently.  
"Fifty Most Popular Tropical Fish" he muttered.  
Where had Loki got 'this' book from? Was it from Tony's decorative bookcase where he'd probably have something like this he wouldn't read because it wasn't about his type of science, but instead had pretty colours on the front? If so why was Loki so excited about..fish.  
He looked up with a puzzled expression written across his face.  
"N'uhh it's a good book, what's um so great?..." He tentatively asks, not wanting to upset the God.  
Loki giggles. That adorable 'eheh' that always makes Tony melt inside.  
"What are they!? I have never seen anything like them!" He says ecstatically.  
Then the penny drops. Loki's never seen fish.  
"Ohhh they're um...fish..yeah pretty little things that swim around living in the water" he shrugs.  
Loki's silvery eyes flash happily with the desire to know more about there strange creatures. He snaps the book open and furiously flicks through the pages to find something. Tony smiles to himself when Loki stabs a finger at the photo image on the page of a 'Tiger Barb'.  
"Look Tony! Look it is beautiful is it not look at-  
"Loki"  
"You say these creatures live in the water?!"  
"Loks"  
"If they do then how do you not get them mixed up in your water supplies-Why have I never seen one in the water feature you have in the bedroom-can they be invisible too!?"  
"Loki!"  
It is endearing to watch the God becoming utterly fascinated with this-in Tony's eyes-rather boring species. But he is going a million miles an hour and he needs to slow down if Tony can answer any of these adorable questions.  
Loki's eyes are trained on his now.  
"So Blue...have you ever been to an Aquarium?


	2. Muggle objects

Probably the thing Tony Stark dreads the most in his tower is a power cut. Even though the clean energy he uses is pretty reliable it still happens. And it drives him up the wall.   
First of all he's usually doing some delicate work on his suit-re calibrating the thrusters or fixing a stray wire or something-and that requires light-a lot of big bright lights.   
He knows it isn't the end of the world but it's still irritating.   
And he doesn't really want to admit it to the God but he worries about Loki too. He knows that on Asgard they have no electricity and after getting used to a tower that hums with energy took a while for Loki. And he thinks-no he knows- that he'll get a shock if he's suddenly plunged into darkness. He won't get totally freaked out but he'll be disorientated.   
Tony knew it would happen sometime. He just wasn't counting on it being today.   
Although it worked out not too badly seeing as Loki was in his workshop with him at the time-as ever fascinated by Tony's work.   
He'd had the suits thruster in pieces in front of him, tiny bits of metal strewn across the desk in intricate patterns. The lights above were a stark white-so bright they were almost tinged blue. They glared at his desk giving him plenty to see by. Then they flickered. Tony bit his lip and silently prayed it was just that. A stutter in the electrics-as unlikely as that was. Loki registered the blink and looked up, confusion etched upon his face, around his eyes. He noticed Tony chew his lip and visibly tensing. Smirking he made to ask what was bothering him but suddenly the lights flashed again and died.   
Darkness spilled across everything like ink as the workshop fell into shadows.   
Tony groaned.   
"Reallyyy???"   
Loki licked his lips nervously.   
"Tony...what has happened to the light?" He asked uncertainly.   
He heard Tony shuffle about in the darkness.   
"Oh uh just a power cut Blue. Nothing to worry about. Lemme just find the matches I think they're in here somewhere.." The insufferable engineer muttered.   
Loki sat like ice, refusing to move.   
Of course he was no stranger to darkness. On Asgard they only had natural light and candles to see by. He'd managed well enough with that for centuries.   
But now. Now he was used to the world-especially this tower-being constantly lit up. He'd grown accustomed to the harsh lighting and to have it snatched away like that had him more nervous than he would like to admit.   
And what did this word 'power-cut' even mean?   
"Hahey!"   
Loki jumped at the sudden exclamation. He heard Stark rustling something then there was a muted whoosh and a tiny flame sparked into life. Loki frowned. What in the nine was this?   
It was a flame, seemingly dancing in mid air above Tony's fingers.   
It cast an amber glow upon Tony's desk and his face; lighting up those warm mahogany eyes.   
"You're looking a bit lost there Honey what's up?" He heard Tony chuckle.  
The god shook his head in awe.   
"What is this?" He whispered, leaning forward so Tony could smell his minty shampoo.   
Tony smiled to himself. Loki's shoulder length hair was as usual slicked back and melted into the darkness surrounding them. But several strands had strayed forwards, framing his angular cheek bones-all the more dramatic for the ..very..low lighting. His eyes were usually the lightest silvery colour-like rain. Although now they were darker in the shadows, like mercury at room temperature. And if that wasn't a nerdy simile then he really didn't know what was.   
Loki was studying the flame with intense concentration and Tony found the frowning God adorable.   
Although he wouldn't say that.  
"You know I love it when you get all confused about muggle things" he quips   
...ok maybe he would.   
Loki looks up with a glare.   
"Muggle?" He questions.  
"Uhh just a Harry Potter reference-from a book series that's pretty popular on Earth, you know, I'll have to get some for you then"  
Loki has already gone back to studying the match as he loses interest in Tony's innocent ramblings.   
"Is this magic?" He can't help but wonder.   
Tony begins to chuckle but then winces.  
"Ah!!" He exclaims, throwing the flame away.   
Loki starts too, staring after the tiny light as it dies in the murky depths of the darkness.   
He turns back to Tony.  
"Are you trying to start a fire?" He accuses him.  
Tony-in the middle of blowing on his fingers-abruptly stops and laughs.   
"Oh no..no Blue it's fine! They're matches"   
"Matches" Loki lets the word lie in his mouth.   
"Matches" he repeats.   
"They're little sticks that you set alight like a mini candle so you can see. Or more commonly so you can light something else with them"   
By now he's lit another one and can see Loki as understanding flashes across his face before it is neutral once more.   
"What happened before?"   
"Oh uh...they burn quite quickly 'cause they're only really little sticks so that one burnt down and singed my hand-they go out after that so it's fine" He shrugs sheepishly.   
Loki looks at him with amusement and giggles.   
The laughter dies in his throat however when there is a distant thud and the lights flash before staying on. Loki jumps at the sudden abundance of light and noise of things working again and Tony can't help but grin.   
"Here-knock yourself out" he says, chucking the package of matches towards the God.   
"See if you can figure out how to light one...without magic" he challenges.   
Loki scoffs.  
"Child's play.. I may not be accustomed to your 'muggle' objects but they seem simplistic enough"   
He's still at it two hours later.


	3. King-sized bees

Loki murmured and shifted in his sleep, unconsciously reaching out for his other half. He frowned in his dreams when all he felt was empty space.   
"T'ny"   
If Tony was there then he would have teased the god for his slip of the tongue. Loki almost always called him Stark and only referred to him as Tony in intimate moments or when he was upset and needed comforting...or was half asleep with his guard down.   
Loki's body soon woke up properly when it registered how there was no Tony pressed against him. Surprisingly both men liked to cuddle-especially in the morning.   
Blearily he sat up and rubbed his eyes with the heels of his palms. Stifling a yawn and scanning the bedroom for Ton-Stark he couldn't help but feel confused at his lovers absence.   
Tony never got up early. Ever.   
...Like Loki.   
"Jarvis?"   
"Yes sir?"   
"Mm time" Loki murmured.   
He didn't work in the mornings.   
"Eleven forty two"   
Ugh that was too early. All he wanted was to curl up and go back to sleep but as much as he hated to admit it he knew he wouldn't be able to. Not without Tony beside him.   
He blamed the fact that it took him ten minutes to hear the strange buzzing noise coming from the ensuite bathroom on having just woken up.   
Utterly perplexed by the foreign noise he lurched out of the king sized bed and staggered over to the bathroom door-dignity had taken a day trip. As it often did in the mornings. Being as witty as Loki took a lot of work and Tony had always felt privileged that he was allowed to see a more normal and bewildered Loki. His little dysfunctional Loki as he always seemed to be after just waking up.   
Leaning against the white door and stifling another yawn, Loki listened to the buzzing noise. He pressed his ear closer to the door, he was sure he could make out Tony humming over the monotone buzz.  
Curiosity overtook him and he warily pushed the door open, sincerely hoping that Midgard was not home to any sort of giant bees. Loki had a phobia of the insects had was pretty sure he would die if he was faced with a one the size of his and Tony's king sized bed.   
He hesitantly stepped into the bathroom, eyes darting about. The sight he saw was even more confusing than the noise it seemed to be creating.   
"Hey Blue-joined the land of the living?"  
Tony was standing at the sink peering into the mirror yet appeared to be holding a contraption to his chin. He slowly guided it over his neck and jaw winking at Loki in the mirror.   
He grinned like a four year old at his boyfriend. He loved morning time Loki.   
Unlike Tony he liked to wear a top in bed. Usually he wore grey sweats and a worn band t-shirt-one of Tony's. This morning his hair was ruffled as Loki had yet to slick it back with wax. Tony liked it when it was soft like this and hung in gentle waves.   
"So good-lookin' what d'you wanna do today. I think-  
"What are you doing?" Loki's velvety voice cut through his sentence, deliciously deep.   
"Uhhh what?.." Tony was bewildered and continued to shave.   
"That..contraption what the Hel is it?"   
It hit Tony. Loki had never seen an electric razor.   
Did Gods even shave on Asgard? He was guessing not thinking about some of the mighty beards he'd seen some sporting. Did they trim them instead? He chuckled at the image of Thor-  
"Stark!"   
Remembering he still had to answer Loki's question he grinned.   
"Sorry-got distracted..uh these are called electric razors" he explained, checking his reflection.   
Loki looked confused still.   
"What? You think this is natural?", he chuckled pointing to his intricately patterned beard," I wish..no this is high maintenance...kinda like you and your hair wax"   
"You mortals never cease to amaze with your designs and machines to accomplish tasks for you" Loki grinned, stepping forward and tracing the lines of Tony's facial hair. Tony smiled that was a lovely sensation; Loki's slender fingers drifting over his jaw.   
"What do you do on Asgard then if you wanna shave?" He had to ask when Loki ceased his caresses and chose instead to examine the razor Tony had put down.   
"Hmh" Loki chuckled.   
"You can, like many, choose to let your beard grow or like Thor you can have a maid trim it for you...of course there is magic but that is a trick reserved for me"   
Tony laughed.   
"Huh I can't imagine you with a beard Blue"   
Loki pulled a face.  
"I am glad, they are despicable things"   
"Hey!"  
Loki smiled an apology.   
"Yours is an exception" he corrected, placing a light peck on Tony's lips.   
He contemplated the razor in his hands a little longer, tilting it this way and that as he figured out how to work it.   
Tony leant against the sink and watched with a fond smile.   
Loki was cute and so kissable when he was infatuated with a new 'Midgardian' device.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Any body who has any suggestions for Loki to discover speak up :P I love hearing ideas.


	4. Interior design

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Which one's your favourite so far? I'm open to ideas :D

"I'm cold"  
No answer.  
"Tony! Wake up I'm cold"  
Still no answer.  
"Tony!!"  
When the engineer just rolled over Loki gave up, growled and stood up from his huddled position on the luxurious leather sofa.  
Tony was sprawled on the same side of the cushions, sleeping.  
Before Tony had fallen asleep Loki had been complaining of the bitter cold that nobody seemed to feel but him. Tony's solution had been to cuddle up with the grumpy god on the sofa with a blanket. Unsurprisingly it worked seeing as Loki was a cuddler.  
Until Tony fell asleep, rolled away and started hogging the blanket.  
Loki was left dying of cold on the sofa glaring at his other half.  
"Incompetent mortal" he muttered as he stalked out of the living room.  
He didn't get far before wishing he'd stayed and attempted to snuggle up with Tony instead. Blanket or no.  
Shivering he surveyed the airy room he'd found himself in and cursed Stark with his taste for huge windows lining every room. Plus his preference for smooth sleek floorboards instead of carpets and rugs. The idiot didn't even own a proper fireplace.  
Loki contemplated whether Tony would be too mad to sleep with him that night if he magicked up a huge room with a fireplace and carpets where his workshop was supposed to be.  
He sighed. Despite the fact that he realllyyyy wanted to, he knew Tony wouldn't speak to him afterwards and well..that was a bit worse than being cold he supposed.  
Ugh. He nearly stamped with frustration. He was so COLD. He couldn't feel his fingers and his legs were freezing.  
"Jarvis where is the nearest source of heat!?" He hissed, jumping up and down a bit in a completely undignified fashion.  
"That would be the radiator sir" Jarvis replied with a smiling tone.  
Loki scowled and racked his brains for the word 'radiator'. He had heard it used before he was sure. He just couldn't place the meaning.  
After a five minute struggle he relented and asked Jarvis.  
"Jarvis"  
"Yes sir"  
"...what is a radiator-refresh my memory" he asked hesitantly.  
He loathed being in the dark. Figuratively and literally he supposed.  
"A radiator is an apparatus used to heat a room" Jarvis explained.  
Loki's mouth twisted in a quirky smile.  
"Ah...where is it?"  
"To your left sir"  
He nodded and turned on his heel in the way Stark always teased him for-saying he looked like a British headmaster.  
His silvery green eyes scanned the room before he realised he had no idea what a radiator looked like. He sighed. All this hassle because Tony can't share blankets.  
Although Loki knew he did the same.  
But that wasn't relevant right now.  
He sauntered over to the side of the room Jarvis had directed him to and huffed in exasperation. There was nothing here expect a pale blue wall and a white panel. Stark and his 'sophisticated' and apparently 'modern' interior design. What use was a panel anyway? It was simply a different colour bit of the wall. The stupid effect could be created just as easily with paint. Tony had taught him about paint beforehand-Loki found it fascinating.  
But these stupid panels were only good for one thing.  
Leaning.  
With a growl he turned his back on the wall and slouched against the panel, rolling his eyes at Tony's incompetence. Much as he still loved the idiot.  
As soon as his back grazed the panel he yelped and leaped back.  
It was scalding hot.  
What in the nine!?  
With a confused noise Loki examined the panel.  
It had scorched him through his shirt-or that was what it felt like. Cautiously he let his fingers drift over the surface wincing when the invisible heat stung them too.  
It was strange. The..panel was plain white and showed none of the usual signs of being hot. It just was.  
Cold forgotten for a second, he twisted round to examine his back where he had been burnt.  
There was no mark-his skin was slightly pink but it didn't look to be damaged. He couldn't make sense of if. He was on the verge of asking Jarvis when it crashed in his mind.  
"Ohhhh" he breathed.  
Then he chuckled.  
This 'panel' was the radiator.  
Feeling faintly ridiculous he tentatively rested against it before sliding down and sitting on the floor pressed against the radiator.  
The heat was slightly prickly but it was a nice sensation now that he understood it. He felt sort of proud of himself figuring this one out. Usually he had to rely on Tony to explain these things to him.  
This fact may or may not have lead to a childish grin flashing across his aquiline face.  
The feeling of warmth and content soon overtook him and he dozed off, huddled next to the radiator only wishing he had Stark to cuddle beside too.  
That was how Tony found him later as he blearily wandered around searching for the god no longer beside him.  
He almost awww'd out loud but didn't want to wake him. Even though Loki was even better at sleeping than him.  
He settled for taking a picture on his phone instead...and getting Jarvis to show him the adorable footage of Loki discovering radiators


	5. Night sky

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's harder than you'd think thinking of all these things Loki might've not discovered so suggestions anybody?

It was one of those nice nights Tony supposed. When the night air is clean and sharp like broken glass and the city's lights flash like diamonds. It was a fairly quiet part of town and he and Loki were enjoying a leisurely walk back to the tower after eating out.   
The gleaming streets were damp with light drizzle but it meant that they were pretty empty and he and Loki could have some time to just walk in peace, arms linked.  
It was rather romantic he must admit as he stares up at the cobalt sky. He caught a faint wooshing noise and he turned his head just in time to see a low flying airplane fly above them like a shooting star.   
Loki gasped beside him.   
"Ooh Tony! Look what was that?"   
Tony grinned at the gods enthusiasm.   
"It's a uh airplane" he supplied, wrapping his arm around Loki's waist as he gazes up into the sky.   
"Airplane" he repeated softly and Tony felt his fingers twitching with excitement through the hand he was holding.   
"What does it do!?" He asked passionately, the lust for knowledge shining through his eyes.   
Tony chuckled.  
"It's um like a big metal tube that has seats in it and wings and an engine and there's a pilot sitting at the front driving it or flying it and it uh..flies through the air above the ground and it can go really fast. People use them to um deliver things to different countries or to travel for holidays and things. Pepper makes me go on them all the time and it's really annoying 'case she took my private -  
"Stark" Loki sighed fondly.   
"Huh?"  
"You're rambling again" Loki pointed out with a smile.  
"Oh right sorry um yeah what were you gonna say?" Tony grinned sheepishly.  
"They sound amazing!? Humanity and their toys" Loki smirked.   
He abruptly started walking again whilst Tony is lost looking at the stars and as a result the billionaire almost falls over.   
"Hey!"   
"Ehehe you need to learn a few coordination skills Tony" he grinned, catching him by reflex.   
Tony tripped quite a lot back home and even more in the iron man suit.   
For a few minutes they walk in silence and Tony silently revels in the adorable way Loki keeps glancing up to the sky in hope of seeing another airplane.   
With each unfulfilled glance his face gets a little more sullen and disappointed.   
He's frowning by the time they get back and Tony pats him on the back.   
"Don't worry Blue I'll take you on one next time we go on holiday


	6. Death glare

On the twentieth of February Loki was roughly shaken awake by oneTony Stark.   
He grumbled and rolled onto his back, mustering up the strength to death glare his other half.   
Only it didn't really work. He was half asleep and uncoordinated and his hair was ruffled and annoyingly kept falling into his eyes.   
He settled for a growl instead.   
"Stark..."  
"Yes honey?"   
"Why have you woken me up", he glanced at the bedside clock and groaned," Before nine am???"   
Tony chuckled and leaned forwards to peck Loki's cheek.   
Loki mumbled and rubbed his eyes with the heels of his palms-in an adorable way that a snappish god like himself shouldn't be allowed.  
With one last poisonous stare at the bedside clock, he wriggled back under the covers and closed his eyes.   
Tony smirked. He'd known Loki was always drowsy anyway when he woke him up.   
His plan was lurking in his mind and he was tempted...very tempted to try it out now. But Tony Stark wasn't without heart-at least not when it came to his kitten as was his secret pet name for Loki.   
He'd kept that name to himself mostly because he knew he'd be mauled if he dared to call Loki it. He only just put up with Blue, although Tony was sure that the god actually liked that one and was just pretended to hate it.   
He checked his digital watch and his amber eyes gleamed with mischief when the glowing blue numbers revealed the time to be quarter to nine.   
Plenty of time to further relax the god before-  
Well before Tony's plan jumped into action.   
A small murmur from Loki as Tony hesitantly shifted closer let him know that he had almost fallen back asleep.   
Perfect.   
He stealthily slid a hand over Loki's back, he was wearing one of Tony's old band t-shirts like he always did in bed and Tony could feel the soft material beneath his fingers.   
After a few seconds the god hadn't reacted, which was understandable seeing as he was the deepest sleeper the engineer knew.   
He pressed down a little harder, letting his fingers trip over the ridged muscles. Loki sighed in his shallow sleep and subconsciously leaned into Tony's touch. Tony obeyed the silent wish and began massaging his back-sitting up to get better leverage.  
Loki purred in pleasure and Tony shook his head. Loki was laughably easy to manipulate in the mornings. Not that he'd ever really question why Tony was giving him a back rub-the engineer enjoyed giving those and he loved receiving them.   
As his warm fingers kneaded a particular spot Loki murmured then moaned when Tony pressed down on it.   
The noises Loki made during back rubs should be illegal Tony decided.   
With another throaty purr Loki shifted closer to the engineer and rolled onto his back.   
Tony rolled his eyes but smiled and obeyed the silent command.   
The god loved back rubs maybe more than he loved Tony but he lived belly rubs.   
Tony and his ego was ok with that to his surprise.   
He caught sight of the time again and realised that it was thirty eight seconds until take off.   
He counted in his mind as he reached down and let his fingers tease Loki's slim waist. Then he ran his hands up the gods sides, rucking the t-shirt up and kneading the muscles beneath the ivory skin patterned with silver scars.   
Twenty two seconds.   
He brushed his fingers over Loki's chest and watched as a small smile flickered across the gods face.  
He almost felt bad for what was about to happen....  
Almost. Not quite.   
Loki smiled wider and snuggled closer into Tony with a sleepy murmur.   
Eight seconds.   
Tony grinned as the god pouted slightly in his half asleep state when Tony slowed the hand gliding over his stomach.   
He traced a pattern over one of Loki's silvery scars.   
Three, two, one.   
An ear splitting screech shot through the heady atmosphere as Tony's AC/DC alarm clock went off.  
There was a unintelligible yell followed by a yelp as Loki flung himself off the bed in a panic before leaping back to his feet.  
The screech ended with a guttural   
"Yeaaaah" and a deafening drum solo began.   
Backed up against the wall Loki's head twisted round as his eyes flitted around the spacious room-searching for the source of the dreadful noise.   
The thunderous drums stopped suddenly to be replaced by a wailing electric guitar and Loki recognised the noise to be one of Tony's favourite heavy metal songs   
"STARK!!!!!!!"   
Tony stopped air playing the guitar and gulped.   
"Uhhhh"   
"I-AM-GOING-TO-KILL YOU"   
Loki stalked towards him, his hair was slightly dishevelled but his death glare was infinitely more terrifying than the one he attempted earlier.   
His grey eyes were sharp like broken glass and icy like snow.   
They glinted steely grey like the edge of a knife and his lips were pressed together in a line of fury.   
"Heh, huh.." Tony grimaced, he was dead.   
His kitten had turned into an alley cat, ready to slash his face off.   
The rock music was still screaming in the background-JARVIS had had the sense to turn it down after the gods initial fright.   
"So I umm guess you haven't heard of such thing as an alarm clock then heh" Tony tried to save himself.   
The god paused.   
"Alarm clock.."   
Tony frowned looking the god up and down.   
Why had he stopped? Why wasn't Tony mush on the carpet?   
"Alarm clock" Loki repeated, he frowned and stared at the floor.   
He looked up to glare at Tony and the engineer saw the battle waging behind his eyes.   
Loki's lust for knowledge was insatiable when it came to learning about Midgardian things.   
He couldn't decide whether to ask Tony what an alarm clock was or kill him...  
'Decisions decisions' thought Tony with a chuckle.   
He ended up asking. Like Tony had known he would.


	7. Chewing

Stark was always eating, it seemed to Loki...  
In the lab, in the bedroom, after meals, during movies. The constant noise of his chewing drove Loki up the wall. He knew Midgardian food was delicious, much better than Asgardian but was there really any need to eat it at literally every hour of the day?   
He supposed what was really bugging him was how Tony maintained his physique.   
It was a good physique. Lightly toned with glowing tanned skin and strong-  
He blinked and forced himself to focus. Being distracted wasn't going to solve this problem.   
Especially seeing as Tony was chewing right now...and Loki was this close to snapping.   
Although he did snap easily.   
There was silence for all of three seconds then the noise started again.   
"STARK!!!"   
Tony jumped and nearly flung his tablet out the window.   
"Agh! Jesus Loki"   
Loki glared.   
Tony continued to sprawl on the sofa beside him but threw his head back in exasperation.  
"What have I done now...?" He groaned, looking up for several seconds before letting his head fall back again.   
"Am I sprawling again..? Sorry I know that gets on your nerves, I'll um just-  
"Tony" Loki said quietly.   
The billionaire stopped and grinned sheepishly.   
"Yeah Blue?"   
"Do you ever cease eating"   
Tony frowned.   
What? He thought to himself  
"What?" He said   
Loki closed his eyes.  
"Do you ever stop eating, it is constant...the chewing ugh" he shuddered.  
He opened his eyes wearily to feel a twinge of guilt.   
Tony regarded him with a hurt expression on his handsome face, his topaz eyes soft.   
"Are you calling me fat...?" There was an underlying tone of confrontation.   
Loki frowned this time.   
"No that is the opposite of what is irritating me, the fact that you seem to always have food in your mouth yet maintain this", he gestured at Tony.   
Who practically winced in confusion.   
"What?"   
He ponderously chewed his gum as he thought about what Loki was trying to say, he knew that the deity often got confused on Midgard although he was loathe to admit it. He ran his tongue over his teeth tasting the mintiness, a habit he had when thinking, when upon seeing Loki's very irritated face, it struck him.   
The realisation that of something that seemed so normal to him yet completely alien to Loki made him laugh out loud.   
"Ha! Oh wow. Right sorry Blue now I know what you're saying, heh, that took me a while"   
Loki glared. He was good at that.   
Although seeing Tony's face light up with boyish laughter may or may not have made him smile.   
"Care to explain Ton-Stark"   
Tony smiled fondly at his determination to remain irritated that he didn't understand.   
So he decided to put him out of his misery and explain.   
So he stuck his tongue out.   
Loki frowned even more and opened his mouth to ask what he was doing when he paused. There was a pale sort of food resting on Tony's tongue.   
After a silence of several seconds, during which Tony stopped sticking his tongue out and settled for grinning like a four year old instead, Loki decided to ask.  
"What...is that foodstuff?"   
"Chewing gum...or just gum if you're like me and you know like to shorten words so you can get on with things"   
"Gum....pray what exactly does it do...?" Loki sighed, but he couldn't hide the hint of interest he usually sported when discovering Midgardian things.   
"You chew it" Tony grinned, doing , for once, what Loki constantly asked, albeit deliberately, and keeping his answers short.   
"That was fairly self explanatory Stark...why do you chew it?"   
Tony smirked for several seconds before giving in to the god's adorable frustrated face.   
"You chew it and it freshens up your breath and makes it smell minty and it kind of helps keep your mouth clean between brushing your teeth...plus it tastes really nice which is why I have if all the time 'cause you-  
"Ok...Tony..." Loki sighed with a slight smile.   
Tony shut up with a wink and resumed chewing...quietly. He was used to being alone where there was nobody to care if he chewed loudly. He was still getting used to Loki wanting to be around him, others just...tolerated him.   
"May I try some?"   
He snapped out of his gum reverie and grinned.   
"Sure Blue, here"   
He popped out a pellet of gum from its iridescent packaging and handed it to Loki, who took it gingerly and studied it before putting it in his mouth warily.   
"And I just....chew it..?" He asked hesitantly.   
Tony tried not to smile, he knew Loki didn't like being in the dark.   
"Uh yeah, just chew it...but don't swallow it" he warned.   
"Why not?" Loki asked.   
"It'll get stuck in your system for three years" Tony lied with a very serious face.   
He had to force himself not to crack up when Loki nodded solemnly and tentatively bit the gum.   
He winced at the sudden flood of mint assaulting his taste buds but quickly adapted to the sharp, clean taste. He smirked and chewed with a small giggle.   
It tasted like toothpaste-which Tony had warned him not to eat because it could give you a sore stomach.   
Tony pretended to go back to work as Loki cuddled up to him and chewed the gum. Really Tony just kept an amused eye on him. And when Loki's face fell as the taste of the gum faded, he gave him a new piece. Over time he and Loki managed to raise their average monthly spending...through an increased amount of gum.

**Author's Note:**

> I've managed to update Tea, Tony and a moody magician so lemme know what you think :)


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